Tibet Tour Bus Plunges off a Cliff, Killing at Least 44

A tour bus on a mountainous highway in Tibet plunged off of a 30-foot cliff, killing at least 44 people and injuring 11 others, China's state media reported Sunday.

The bus was traveling along National Highway 318, west of the regional capital of Lhasa, when it struck a truck and an SUV and careened off the road, the South China Morning Post reports. The conditions of the truck driver and four SUV passengers was unclear.

Fifty-five passengers were aboard the bus, most of them tourists from eastern China, a staff member from Lhasa-based Feixiang Travel Agency told the South China Morning Post. Photos released by Xinhau showed the vehicle lying upside down along a riverbed. Survivors were pulled out of the bus and the injured rushed to hospitals in Lhasa.

"Our company will dedicate all efforts to dealing with the aftermath of the accident," the staff member told the South China Daily News. "All of our managers and project leaders involved in this matter are rushing to the scene as we speak."